Vehicular camera with lens heater

A camera for a vehicular vision system, said camera comprising:

• a camera housing;
• a lens barrel including a lens having lens optics disposed in said lens barrel, wherein said lens barrel is attached at said camera housing so that said lens is optically aligned with an imager disposed in said camera housing;
• wherein said camera is configured to be disposed at an exterior portion of a vehicle so as to have a field of view exterior of the vehicle;
• a heating device disposed at an exterior of said lens barrel, said heating device comprising a thin foil heating element that at least partially circumscribes said lens barrel;
• a control that controls operation of said heating device responsive at least in part to temperature at said lens;
• wherein said heating device includes an electrical lead that is configured to electrically connect to an electrical connector of the vehicle when said camera is disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle;
• wherein, with said camera disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle and with said electrical lead electrically connected to the electrical connector of the vehicle, said control energizes said heating device responsive to determination that an ambient temperature is below a threshold temperature;
• wherein, with said camera disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle and with said electrical lead electrically connected to the electrical connector of the vehicle, and responsive to a determination of current drawn by said heating device when said heating device is energized, said control determines the temperature at said lens;
• wherein, responsive to the determined temperature at said lens being below a first threshold temperature, said control operates said heating device to increase the temperature of said lens barrel of said camera;
• and
• wherein said control deenergizes said heating device responsive at least in part to determination that the determined temperature at said lens is at or above a second threshold temperature that is greater than the first threshold temperature.

A camera for a vehicular vision system, said camera comprising:

• a camera housing;
• a lens barrel including a lens having lens optics disposed in said lens barrel, wherein said lens barrel is attached at said camera housing so that said lens is optically aligned with an imager disposed in said camera housing;
• wherein said camera is configured to be disposed at an exterior portion of a vehicle so as to have a field of view exterior of the vehicle;
• a heating device disposed at an exterior of said lens barrel, said heating device comprising a thin foil heating element that at least partially circumscribes said lens barrel;
• a control that controls operation of said heating device responsive at least in part to temperature at said lens;
• wherein said heating device includes an electrical lead that is configured to electrically connect to an electrical connector of the vehicle when said camera is disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle;
• wherein, with said camera disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle and with said electrical lead electrically connected to the electrical connector of the vehicle, said control energizes said heating device responsive to determination that an ambient temperature is below a threshold temperature;
• wherein, with said camera disposed at the exterior portion of the vehicle and with said electrical lead electrically connected to the electrical connector of the vehicle, and responsive to a determination of current drawn by said heating device when said heating device is energized, said control determines the temperature at said lens, and wherein said control controls operation of said heating device based at least in part on the determined temperature;
• and
• wherein said control deenergizes said heating device responsive to determination that a threshold time period following energization of said heating device has elapsed.